Canon Law

Prologue

Welcome to the Canon Law of the Evangelical Catholic Church. We hope that the following Canons will give you a meaningful perspective as to the life, charism and functioning standards of our jurisdiction.

The first Christians had a complex relationship with the concept of law. The early evangelical traditions were critical of the described observance of the Mosaic Law. We hear in the gospel, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites for you tithe mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier matter of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others” (Matt 23:230). At the same time, Jesus is explicit that he did not come to abolish the saying, “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I say to you, till haven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished” (Matt 5:7-18).

The core desire for the Evangelical Catholic Church’s Code of Canon Law in matters of Liturgy, Sacramentology, Preaching and all areas of social outreach involves the development and support of all institutions that are considered to be most serviceable for the personal life and faith of all members of the church and for their vocation in the world.

For the Evangelical Catholic Church our Code of Canon Law is a statement of beliefs and living principles that nurtures our organization, functionality and the daily lives of our community of faith. Thus, we believe that our Canon Law helps and supports our jurisdiction to witness and fulfill our mission to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We further believe that our Canon Law does this by:

(a) By supporting and encouraging members of our shared faith to live and witness our faith in their daily lives.

(b) Encouraging the faithful to fully participate in the works of the Church.

(c) Maintaining and/or developing new avenues of pastoral outreach that serves the faith and the lives of it members. In doing so, it must adapt to the circumstances of the time and needs.

With God’s blessings and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, our Code of Canon Law will fulfill its responsibilities and obligations as a vital element of our ongoing Spiritual, Theological, Sacramental, Pastoral and Evangelistic mission.

As always, should you have any questions or are in need of any clarification about of Canon Law, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Canon 1: General Information

1.1 At this time the corporate name of this faith community shall be The Province of the ECC.

1.2 With in these canons our jurisdiction shall also be referred to as "this church", "this faith community", “the ECC” or most often “the Evangelical Catholic Church."

1.3 This Church is a validly consecrated and constituent member of Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, which unites all Christians throughout the world and throughout history.

1.4 The Province of the ECC shall be incorporated in the State of Illinois as a not for profit religious corporation.

1.5 The Code of Canon Law for this Church shall serve as its official instrument of guidance and focus for its Mission Service to the People of God.

1.6 This website and the contents therein are copyrighted and are the sole

property of this Church and may not be used or duplicated without permission.

1.7 The activities of all clergy, religious and laity involved in any roles of public or sacramental ministry are obligated to uphold the Code of Conduct of the Evangelical Catholic Church at all times

1.8 The Holy Family shall be the patrons of the Evangelical Catholic Church and shall be remembered in all celebrations of the Eucharist and on their Feast Day of December 28th.

1.9 Unless otherwise stated, all Canons and Policies of the Evangelical Catholic Church cannot be dispensed from.

1.10 We celebrate and promulgate Bishop Carlos Duarte Costa as the Spiritual, Pastoral and Vocational Mentor for the Evangelical Catholic Church and celebrate his Memorial on July 21st.

1.11 In all matters of Pastoral and Sacramental work, the Evangelical Catholic Church commits itself to following the work and examples of the Great Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

1.12 The motto for the Evangelical Catholic Church shall be “A Welcoming Community of Faith Rooted in the Catholic Tradition.”

Canon 2: Church Membership

2.1 While there is no absolute requirement for any person to hold canonical membership within this Church to participate in the life of this Church, any person baptized, confirmed, or received into full membership, according to the approved liturgical and sacramental rites of this Church by a deacon, priest or bishop in good standing, shall be recognized as a full and canonical member of this Church and thus eligible to pursue any secular or religious vocation or be appointed of a secular position of responsibility within the Evangelical Catholic Church.

2.2 This Church declares itself to be an open and affirming Catholic faith community, which particularly welcomes all those who have been injured or disenfranchised through social and/or religious bigotry or hatred, fear or ignorance.

2.3 A person may terminate their canonical membership with this Church through the sacramental rite of reception within another faith community, or by submitting a letter of intention to their pastor or local ordinary.

2.4 A person who has terminated their membership with this Church may petition for readmission by submitting a written request to the local pastor or to the local ordinary.

2.5 Members [clerics, religious or laity] who fail to profess or follow the Creedal Doctrines and Ecclesial Protocols of this Church or engage in behaviors destructive to the welfare of this Church will be notified by the local ordinary that, unless such failures are corrected, termination of membership through formal decree will occur. In such matters, a member must be provided with formal documentation of any issues and be given due process to respond and question any person making charges against them.

§1 If a member who has been formally confronted and informed of their error acknowledges such, but refuses to recant or correct their heresy, their membership shall be terminated by order of the diocesan bishop.

§2 If a member who has been formally confronted and informed of their error recants and corrects their heresy, the termination process is thereby ended.

§3 The House of Bishops, with the advice of a Council of Advisors, shall be an Ecclesiastic Court of Appeal.

2.6 Any member who undermines the Body of Christ by word or deed against the sacramental, liturgical or spiritual life of any parish, diocese, religious institution or any person thereof, shall have their membership terminated through the processes of Canon 2.5.

2.7 Any individual or jurisdiction in a relationship with this Church via their membership within a jurisdiction connected by an instrument of Concordat or a Uniate jurisdiction may enjoy participation within this Church appropriate to their standing or charism.

2.8 The Evangelical Catholic Church is eager to welcome opportunities to enter into a Concordat with other jurisdictions which share common Sacramental, Liturgical and Pastoral practices. The leadership of the jurisdictions involved shall be required to exercise all due diligence prior to concluding a Concordat. Upon entering into a Concordat each jurisdiction shall retain their individual autonomy while continuing to share opportunities to grow and build and develop the bonds of this relationship. The Concordat relationship may also, in the fullness of time, become the foundation for future Uniate status or jurisdictional incardination. [See Saint Barnabas Concordate for reference.]

2.9 The Evangelical Catholic Church is also eager to welcome opportunities to receive other jurisdictions as canonical Uniates into its jurisdiction. A Uniate jurisdiction is one that has connected with the Evangelical Catholic Church but continues to retain their practices and traditions. The leadership of the jurisdictions involved shall be required to exercise all due diligence prior to concluding this process. This Church and their Uniate partners shall share opportunities to grow and build their relationship. [See Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych Decree of Uniate Relations]

2.10 The Evangelical Catholic Church is always eager to embrace opportunities to receive others jurisdictions, en masse, into full membership through an act of Jurisdictional Incardination. Such an act would transfer for all involved, regardless of their standings prior to Incardination, their rank or standing into the Evangelical Catholic Church and give each individual full membership into the ECC along with proper faculities to continue their ministries. [See the Saint Thomas Becket Decree for Jurisdictional Incardination]

Canon 3: Doctrine

3.1 This Catholic Faith Community shall worship the One True Triune God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

3.2 This Church shall be part of God’s Kingdom, unconditionally embracing all persons of faith, and all persons seeking to discover or rediscover their faith.

3.3 This Church shall establish dioceses, parishes, religious communities and other necessary institutions to evangelize the People of God.

3.4 This Church shall be subject to the creedal statements established by the Ecumenical Councils of the Universal Church at Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon.

3.5 This Church shall accept as the definition of Christianity the creed defined by the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople of AD 381. This creed is commonly referred to as the Nicene Creed.

3.6 This Church shall accept the Apostles’ Creed as a valid statement of faith.

3.7 This Church shall accept the Athanasian Creed as a valid statement of Trinitarian theology and Christology.

3.8 This Church cannot alter, change, or revise any of the abovementioned creeds.

Canon 4: Liturgical and Sacramental Law

4.1 As a validly consecrated autocephalous catholic faith community, the Evangelical Catholic Church reserves unto herself the obligation to define and make binding her liturgical norms, customs and laws.

4.2 The common liturgical rite for this Church shall be the Novus Ordo. The Church recognizes the historical and liturgical significance of the Tridentine Liturgy and shall respect it as a historic rite of this Church.

4.3 This Church accepts the sacramental validity of the liturgical rites contained within the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the Old Catholic Liturgy.

4.4 At the time of their establishment, all parishes of this Church shall be dedicated to her common liturgical rite, unless otherwise designated by the local ordinary to another canonically approved rite. For a compelling pastoral need, a parish may petition the local ordinary for permission to change its liturgical designation.

4.5 All clergy are obligated to celebrate any liturgical rite with all prescribed rubrics, yet modified to celebrate the ecclesiology of the Church.

Canon 5: Baptism

5.1 Baptism is necessary for salvation in fact or at least in intention, by which all people are freed from their sins, are reborn as Children of God and, configured to Christ by an indelible character, are incorporated into the Church, as validly conferred only by washing with true water together with the required form of words.

5.2 Baptism should be administered in accord with the order prescribed within the approved liturgical books.

5.3 One who is not of sound mind non sui compos is equated with an infant; so far as Baptism is concerned.

5.4 Baptism is to be conferred either by immersion or by pouring with the prescriptions of the proper authority being observed.

5.5 The proper place for Baptism is in a church or oratory.

5.6 As a rule adults are to be baptized in their own local parish church, and infants are to be baptized in the parish church proper to their parents, unless a just cause pastorally suggests otherwise.

5.7 For just pastoral cause, the Sacrament of Baptism can be celebrated in an alternative environment location deemed to be dignified and supportive for Baptism.

5.8 The ordinary minister of Baptism is a bishop, priest, or deacon in good standing, with due regard that the prescriptions of the proper authority be observed.

5.9 To be Baptized, it is required that an adult have manifested the properly formed will to be Baptized, be sufficiently instructed in the Truths of Faith and in Christian obligations and be tested in the Christian life by means of the Catecumenate; the adult is also to be exhorted to have sorrow for personal sins.

5.10 Unless a grave reason prevents it, an adult who is baptized is to be Confirmed immediately after Baptism and participate in the celebration of the Eucharist, also receiving Communion.

5.11 Parents and legal guardians are obliged to see that infants are baptized.

5.12 An infant that is in danger of death is to be baptized without any delay.

5.13 For the licit Baptism of an infant, it is necessary that:

§1 The parents or legal guardians, or at least one of them gives consent.

§2 There be a founded hope that the infant will be brought up in the Faith of this Catholic faith community.

§3 If there is a doubt whether one has been Baptized or whether Baptism was validly conferred and the doubt remains after serious investigation, Baptism is to be conferred conditionally.

§4 A foundling or abandoned child is to be Baptized unless upon diligent investigation proof of Baptism is established.

§5 A child who is legally adopted is to be baptized unless upon diligent investigation proof of Baptism is established.

§6 if aborted fetuses are alive, they are to be Baptized if possible.

§7 Insofar as possible, one to be baptized is to be given a sponsor who is to assist an adult in Christian initiation.

5.14 To be admitted to the role of sponsor, a person must:

§1 Be designated by the one to be Baptized, by the parents or legal guardians in the case of an infant, or in their absence, by the pastor and is to have the qualifications and intention of performing this role.

§2 Have completed their sixteenth year.

§3 Be a member in full standing within this Church.

§4 Not be the father or mother of the one to be Baptized.

5.15 A Baptized person who belongs to a non-Catholic ecclesial community, or another validly consecrated Catholic community may act as a witness to the Baptism, together with a member in full standing within this Church.

5.16 A person who enters into a family by means of legal adoption is to be considered a natural born, legitimate child as far as the provisions of this Code of Canon Law are concerned.

Canon 6: Confirmation

6.1 The Sacrament of Confirmation impresses a character and by it the baptized, continuing on the path of Christian initiation, are enriched by the gift of the Holy Spirit and bound more perfectly to the Church; it strengthens them and obliges them more firmly to be witnesses to Christ by word and deed and to spread and defend the faith.

6.2 The Sacrament of Confirmation is conferred through the anointing with chrism on the forehead, which is done by the imposition of the hand, and through the words prescribed in the approved liturgical books.

6.3 The chrism to be used in the Sacrament of Confirmation must be consecrated by a bishop, even if the sacrament is administered by a presbyter.

6.4 It is desirable that the Sacrament of Confirmation be celebrated in a church and during Mass, but for a just and reasonable cause it may be celebrated outside of the norm and in any worthy place.

6.5 The ordinary minister of the Sacrament of Confirmation is a bishop or someone delegated by the local ordinary.

6.6 All baptized persons who have not been confirmed and only they are capable of receiving confirmation.

6.7 Outside the danger of death, to be licitly confirmed it is required, if the person has the use of reason, that one be suitable instructed, properly disposed and able to renew one's baptismal promise.

6.8 The faithful are obliged to receive this sacrament at the appropriate time, their parents/guardians and shepherds of souls, especially pastors, are to see to it that the faithful are properly instructed to receive it and approach the sacrament at the appropriate time.

6.9 The Sacrament of Confirmation is to be conferred on the faithful at about the age of discretion or unless a grave cause urges otherwise.

6.10 Sponsors for the one to be confirmed should be present; it is for the sponsor to see that the confirmed person acts as a true witness to Christ and faithfully fulfills the obligations connected with this sacrament.

Canon 7: Eucharist

7.1 The celebration of the Eucharist is the action of Christ Himself and the Church; in it Christ the Lord, by the ministry of a priest, offers Himself, substantially present under the forms of bread and wine, to God the Father, and gives Himself as spiritual food to the Faithful who are associated with His offering.

7.2 The minister, who in the person of Christ can confect the sacrament of the Eucharist, is solely a validly ordained priest, or validly consecrated bishop.

7.3 A priest or bishop who is not canonically impeded celebrates the Eucharist licitly, observing the prescriptions of the following canons.

7.4 A priest or bishop may apply the Mass for anyone, living or dead.

7.5 Priests or bishops may concelebrate the Eucharist, unless the welfare of the Faithful requires or urges otherwise.

7.6 A priest is to be permitted to celebrate the Eucharist even if said priest is unknown to the pastor of the Church. Such priests must present a current letter of faculties or recommendation issued by their local ordinary or competent religious superior.

7.7 Remembering that the work of redemption is continually accomplished in the Mystery of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, priest and bishops are to celebrate frequently; indeed daily celebrations is strongly recommended, since even if the Faithful cannot be present, it is the act of Christ and the Church in which priests and bishops fulfill their principal function.

7.8 The ordinary minister of the Eucharist is a bishop, priest, or deacon.

7.9 The extraordinary minister of the Eucharist is an acolyte or other member of the Christian Faithful appointed by the ordinary of the diocese.

7.10 The pastor and parochial vicars, chaplains and the superior of a community of apostolic life have the right and duty to bring the Most Holy Eucharist to the sick in the form of Viaticum.

7.11 Any Baptized person, who is not prohibited by law, can and must be admitted to Holy Communion.

7.12 The Most Holy Eucharist may be given to children who are in danger of death.

7.13 It is the responsibility of the parents and those who take the place of parents, as well as the pastor to see that children who have reached the use of reason are correctly prepared and are nourished by the Divine Food as early as possible.

7.14 All the Faithful, after they have been initiated into the Most Holy Eucharist, are bound by the obligation of receiving Communion at least once per year.

§1 The above precept must be fulfilled during the Easter season unless it is fulfilled for a just cause at some other time of the year.

7.15 The Christian Faithful, who are in danger of death, arising from any cause, are to be nourished by Holy Communion in the form of Viaticum.

7.16 The Most Sacred Eucharistic Sacrifice must be celebrated with bread and wine, with which a small quantity of water is to be mixed.

7.17 Holy Communion is to be given under the form of bread alone or under both kinds in accord with the norm of the liturgical laws or even under the form of wine alone in case of necessity.

7.18 It is sinful, even in extreme necessity, to consecrate one matter without the other, or even both outside the celebration of the Eucharist.

7.19 In celebrating and administering the Eucharist, bishops, priests, and deacons are to wear the liturgical vestments prescribed by the rubrics.

7.20 The celebration and distribution of the Eucharist may take place on any day, and at any hour, except for those times excluded by liturgical norms.

7.21 The celebration of the Eucharist is to be celebrated in a sacred place, unless in a particular case necessity demands otherwise; in such a case the celebration must be done in a respectable place.

7.22 In sacred places where the Most Holy Eucharist is reserved, there must always be someone who has the care of it.

7.23 The Most Holy Eucharist is to be reserved regularly in only one tabernacle of a church or oratory.

7.24 Consecrated hosts are to be reserved in a ciborium or other suitable vessel in sufficient quantity for the needs of the Faithful; they are to be frequently renewed and the old ones properly consumed.

7.25 In churches and oratories where it can be permitted to reserve the Most Holy Eucharist, there can be exposition either with a ciborium, or monstrance, or other suitable vessel, observing the norms prescribed in the liturgical books.

7.26 Exposition of the Most Holy Sacrament may not be held in the same part of the church or oratory during the celebration of the Mass.

7.27 The minister of exposition of the Most Holy Eucharist and the Eucharistic Benediction is a bishop, priest, or deacon. In particular circumstances the minister of exposition and reposition, without benediction, is an acolyte, an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion or another person designated by the local ordinary.

Canon 8: Confession and Reconciliation

8.1 Individual and integral confession and absolution constitutes the ordinary way by which the faithful person who is aware of serious sin is reconciled to God and with the Church.

8.2 A person who has had serious sins remitted by a general absolution need not engage in a subsequent confession to relitigate sins which have been absolved.

8.3 Absolution may be imparted in a general manner to a number of penitents at once without requiring penitents to repeat their confessions later.

8.4 It is solely the prerogative of the diocesan bishop to judge whether the conditions laid out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Canon 7.3 are present, using criteria arrived at in consultation with the other members of the House of Bishops.

8.5 Priests and bishops who are in good standing are the ministers of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

8.6 For the valid absolution of sins it is required that, besides the power received through Sacred Ordination, the minister possesses the faculty to exercise over the Faithful to whom the minister imparts absolution.

8.7 The absolution of an accomplice in any sin whatsoever is invalid except in the danger of death.

8.8 The local ordinary, as well as the competent religious superior, may revoke the faculties to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation from a priest for a just cause.

8.9 When the faculty to hear confessions is revoked by his or her local ordinary or competent major religious superior, a cleric loses the right to hear confessions everywhere. When the faculty to hear confessions is revoked by a positive act of another local ordinary or competent major religious superior, the cleric loses the faculty to hear confessions only as regards the subjects of that ordinary’s jurisdiction.

8.10 Other than revocation, the faculty to hear confessions ceases by loss of office, excardination, or loss of domicile.

8.11 Even though a priest or bishop may lack the faculty to hear confessions, any priest or bishop validly and licitly absolves from any kind of censures and sins any penitent who is in danger of death, even if an approved priest or bishop is present.

8.12 In hearing confessions, the confessor is to remember that he or she acts as a judge as well as a healer and is placed by God as the minister of divine justice and mercy, concerned with the Divine Honor and the salvation of souls.

8.13 The confessor, in posing questions, is to proceed with prudence and discretion, with attention to the condition and age of the penitent, and that the confessor is to refrain from asking the name of an accomplice.

8.14 If the confessor has no doubt about the disposition of a penitent who asks for absolution, absolution is not to be refused or delayed.

8.15 The confessor is to enjoin salutary and suitable penance in keeping with the quality and number of the sins, but with attention to the condition and age of the penitent; the penitent is obliged to perform the penance personally.

8.16 The sacramental seal of the confessional is inviolable. Therefore it is a canonical crime for a confessor, in any way or form, to betray a penitent by word or in any other manner for any reason.

8.17 An interpreter, if needed, is also obliged to preserve the secret, and also all others to whom knowledge of sins from confession shall come in any way.

8.18 Even if every danger of revelation is excluded, a confessor is absolutely forbidden to use any knowledge about sins from confession when it may harm the penitent.

8.19 One who is placed in authority can in no way use for external governance knowledge about sins which the confessor, or others cited, has received in confession at any time.

8.20 A member of the Christian Faithful is obliged to confess, in kind and in number, all serious sins committed after baptism and not yet directly remitted through the Keys of the Church, nor acknowledged in individual confession, of which one is conscious after diligent examination of conscience.

Canon 9: Anointing of the Sick

9.1 The Anointing of the Sick is conferred by anointing the aged or infirm with oil and using the words prescribed in the liturgical books.

9.2 The anointing is to be carefully performed while observing the words, the order, and the manner prescribed in the liturgical books; but in cases of necessity it is sufficient that one anointing be made of the forehead or even on another appropriate part of the body, while saying the entire formula.

9.3 The communal celebration of the Anointing of the Sick can be performed according to the prescriptions of the ordinary of the diocese.

9.4 Every priest and bishop who is in good standing validly administers the Sacrament of the Sick.

9.5 The Sacrament of the Sick can be administered again to a member of the Faithful, who, after a period of recovery begins to decline and once again becomes seriously ill.

Canon 10: Marriage

10.1 The matrimonial covenant, by which a couple establishes between themselves a partnership of the whole life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses; this covenant between Baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a Sacrament.

10.2 Marriage is brought about through the consent manifested between the parties who are capable of giving consent. No human power can replace this consent.

10.3 All persons who are not prohibited by canon law can contract Marriage.

10.4 The Evangelical Catholic Church witnesses and celebrates the marriages of gender-common couples and declares that these marriages to be valid and equal sacraments of Matrimony in the Church as any other marriage celebrated by the Church.

10.5 Pastors of souls are obliged to see to it that their own ecclesial community furnishes the Christian Faithful assistance so that the matrimonial state is maintained in a Christian spirit and makes progress towards perfection. This assistance is especially to be furnished through:

§1 Preaching and catechesis; so that the Christian Faithful may be instructed concerning the meaning of Christian Marriage and the duty of Christian spouses and parents.

§2 Personal and spiritual preparation is required for candidates entering marriage so that the parties may be predisposed toward the holiness and duties of their new state.

§3 Assistance furnished to those already married so that, while faithfully maintaining and protected the conjugal covenant, they may come to lead holier and fuller lives.

10.6 If they can do so without serious inconvenience, Catholics who have not yet received the Sacrament of Confirmation are to receive it before being admitted into Marriage.

10.7 It is strongly recommended that those to be married approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Most Holy Eucharist so that they may fruitfully receive the Sacrament of Marriage.

10.8 Before Marriage is celebrated, it must be evident that nothing stands in the way of its valid and licit celebration.

10.9 All the faithful are obliged to reveal any impediments they are aware of to the pastor or to the local ordinary before the celebration of a Marriage.

10.10 A person must have completed their eighteenth year of age prior to entering into the Sacrament of Marriage.

10.11 A person who, for the purpose of entering Marriage with a certain person, has brought about the death of that person’s spouse or one’s own spouse, attempts such a Marriage invalidly.

10.12 Consanguinity in the direct line in any degree whatsoever invalidates Matrimony.

10.13 In the collateral line of consanguinity, Marriage is invalid up to and including the fourth degree.

10.14 A dispensation can never be given from the impediment of consanguinity in the direct line.

10.15 A dispensation can be given from the impediment of consanguinity in the fourth degree of the collateral line by the local ordinary only for a grave reason.

10.16 Affinity in the direct line in any degree whatsoever invalidates Matrimony.

§1 A dispensation from the impediment of affinity in the direct line can be given by the local ordinary only for a grave reason.

10.17 They cannot validly contract marriage between themselves who are related in any degree whatsoever in the direct line, or up to and including the fourth degree in the collateral line through a relationship arising from legal adoption.

§1 A dispensation can never be granted from the impediment of a relationship in the direct line arising from legal adoption.

§2 A dispensation from the impediment of a relationship arising from legal adoption in the fourth degree of the collateral line can be granted by the local ordinary only for a grave reason.

10.18 Those that lack sufficient use of reason are incapable of contracting Marriage.

10.19 A person contracts invalidly who enters Marriage deceived by fraud, perpetrated to obtain consent, concerning some quality in the other party which by its very nature can seriously disrupt the partnership of conjugal life.

10.20 In general, a marriage, which cannot be recognized or celebrated in accord with the norm of civil law, shall not be witnessed by a cleric of this denomination without the permission of the local ordinary.

10.21 The internal consent of the mind is presumed to be in agreement with the words or signs employed in celebrating Matrimony.

10.22 Marriage can be contracted by means of an interpreter.

10.23 Only those Marriages are canonically valid which are contracted in the presence of the local ordinary or the pastor or a priest or deacon delegated by either of them, who assists, and in the presence of two witnesses, according to the norms expressed in the following:

§1 The one assisting at a marriage is understood to be only that person who, present at the ceremony, asks for the contractants’ manifestation of consent and receives it in the name of the Church.

10.24 Unless they have been excommunicated, interdicted, or suspended from office or declared such, whether by sentence or decree, within the confines of their territory, the local ordinary or pastor, by virtue of their offices, validly assist at the Marriages of their subjects as well as of non-subjects.

10.25 As long as they validly hold office, the local ordinary and the pastor can delegate to priests and deacons the faculty to assist at Marriages within the limits of their territory.

10.26 Outside of a case of necessity, the rites prescribed in the liturgical books approved by the Church or received through legitimate custom are to be observed in the celebration of Marriage.

10.27 If the Marriage was contracted in a parish where a spouse was not baptized, the pastor of the place where it was celebrated is to send a notice of the contracted Marriage as soon as possible to the pastor where the baptism was conferred.

10.28 Local ordinaries and other pastors of souls are to see to it that the Catholic spouse and children of an ecumenical Marriage do not lack spiritual assistance fulfilling their obligations and are to aid the spouses in fostering the unity of conjugal and family life.

10.29 For only serious and urgent reasons can the local ordinary permit a Marriage to be celebrated secretly.

10.30 Parents and guardians have the most serious duty and the primary right to do all in their power to see to the physical, social, cultural, moral, and religious upbringing of their children.

10.31 Persons who are bound by a public vow of chastity invalidly attempt marriage.

§ The impediment ceases only after a dispensation from the vow has been granted by the appropriate authority.

10.32 Clergy of this jurisdiction may, if asked, officiate as witness to a civil marriage as along as all laws and regulations of the particular State and County are followed and fulfilled. Such civil marriages are only recognized by civil law.

MUCH MORE TO COME